Christine Feehan - Dark Curse 19

Power burst through the chamber, alive now, visible threads linking all of the women in the room, drawing on their energy.

Our love of the land heals that which is in need. We join with you now, earth to earth. The cycle of life is complete.

The soil warmed beneath their feet. Raven and Savannah gasped as the wave of heat washed over them. The color of the soil darkened even more into a rich, fertile black, sparkling with minerals.

Lara felt the joy of the earth through the soles of her bare feet, moving up through her legs to infuse her body with strength and happiness. As part of a cosmic whole she was one with the women, one with the universe and had a complete feeling of confidence and accord. For that one moment in time, she had no fears, no vulnerabilities, part of a greater whole. She was flooded with almost a euphoric feeling of well-being, transcended by the energy and peace surrounding her.

The dancers stopped swaying and the women buried their hands in the richness of the fertile soil, far more valuable to them then the richest gold mine. They all should have been drained and weary, but the soil infused them with energy.

Syndil's face reflected the joy Lara was feeling, her eyes shining with wonder.

«This is what our soil should be for our women,» Syndil said. «And with four of us, we can do so much now.»

«I feel a difference already,» Savannah said, relieved. «My cramps are far less.»

Raven bit her lip and shook her head. «It isn't helping me. The contractions are getting stronger.» Despair was in her voice.

Lara, one with the other women, reached to connect with the child. Fear swamped her mind, pain followed. She had the sensation of being torn from her safe haven. She choked back a ragged cry. The little boy was conscious of what was happening to him and he kept reaching out to his mother.

Raven tried to shield him from the pain and the continual battering on his tiny body. More than the physical assault against him, Lara felt the subtle flow of something else. She frowned, glanced at Natalya and then the others to see if they caught it as well. They were all caught in the same fear and grief of losing the child.

Lara touched her tongue to her suddenly dry lips, reaching instinctively for Nicolas. At once he was there, his warmth surrounding her, his strength giving her confidence. Steadied, she took a breath and let it out, trying to follow the thread of dark influence working against both child and mother. Before she could find the source, the child slipped farther away.

Raven began to cry, deep wrenching sobs that tore at Lara's heart. «I can't lose another child. He's too tiny to send into the next life without a mother. I have to go with him.»

A collective gasp went up and the women visibly paled.

«You cannot,» Shea stated. «Absolutely not.»

«Mother,» Savannah protested.

«Raven,» Francesca's voice was the sound of calm. «If you choose to follow your son, Mikhail will follow you into the next world. Our people need both of you. You are distraught and not thinking straight.»

Raven continued to weep brokenly. Shea sank down into the soil beside her, wrapping her arms around her while Savannah clasped her hand.

«I don't understand what that means, that Mikhail will follow her,» Lara whispered to Natalya.

«Lifemates cannot exist without one another. If Raven chooses the next life with her child, Mikhail will have no choice but to follow, or he will turn vampire. This cannot be a choice for Raven, especially with Mikhail. He is our leader. Unless Savannah could take his place, our enemies have won and our species will be extinct.»

Lara went very still, fingers of fear trickling down her spine. Nicolas could have turned vampire. She had left the world by her own choice, never fully understanding the dire consequences to him or to the people around him. He had never said a word to her, not one word of recrimination. Nicolas was an experienced hunter. Had he turned, he would have killed many before he was destroyed.

She scooped more of the rich soil into her fists as she looked at Raven's tear-streaked face. «You cannot take the chance with your lifemate's life.» As she had done. Selfishly, without thought of the consequences to anyone else.

Looking around the chamber at the women gathered together to heal the earth and to save the lives of

three children, she realized that each person was valuable in their own way, that each contributed to the greater good. She was part of the circle of life just as Nicolas was, just as Raven and the unborn children were. Each of them was special and important and had a contribution to make. Maybe none of them knew what it was, but they had to revere life-fight for it-count each individual as important.

«Raven, you're needed here by so many,» she murmured aloud, understanding for the first time that individuals made up the whole. «We would all be diminished by your passing.»

«I need you,» Savannah said, gripping her mother's arm. «I need you with me. I'm your daughter. If you only have me, aren't I worth staying here for?» She looked panic-stricken, very white in contrast to the black soil. «Mom, you can't leave me.»

«I know. I know.» Raven put her arms around her daughter. «I just can't bear losing another child. He's so tiny and he wants to live. He's so far away.»

Francesca caught her arms, gave her a little shake. «Raven, look at me.» She waited until Raven focused on her. «You re panicking. You have to be calm so he can stay calm. You have to believe we can save him so he'll believe it.»

«It hurts him and he's in shock,» Raven protested.

«I know, honey. And you're feeling his pain and his fear and it's amplifying your own, but that won't help him. We can. All of us. Look around you. We're all here with you. We'll help.»

Savannah nodded her head. «I'll help, too, and so will the twins.»

Lara reached again for the thread. «There is a dark art at work here. I feel it when I connect with you and the child. You're being influenced to give up and so is your son. You have to fight back, Raven. Don't let Xavier have this child. Don't let him take you and the boy. Buy me some time.»

Francesca and Shea whipped their heads around to stare at her in shock. «Are you certain?» Francesca demanded. «Really certain?»

«It's subtle but it's there. Believe me, I can recognize Xavier's influence anywhere, no matter how light his touch is.»

«I need to feel what you're feeling,» Francesca said. «Natalya? Do you feel it?»

Natalya went very still. She nodded slowly. «Yes, she's right. And the same influence is working in Savannah as well. Not as strong yet, because the twins are merging to bolster their strength, but the weave of dark art is attacking them as well. They won't be able to hold out against it if it continues, at least not until they're ready to be born.»

Savannah placed both arms protectively around her stomach. «What can we do?»

«We have to destroy whatever is attacking them,» Francesca said.

«Should I call Gregori back?»

«And Mikhail?» Raven's voice wavered.

Lara frowned. «We can't take the chance of it retreating once it feels the threat of a male. Carpathian men are the protectors and guardians. It doesn't perceive us as a threat.»

«Can you follow it?» Natalya asked. «Because if you can give me a target, I can destroy it.» She spoke with absolute confidence.

«I can follow it,» Lara said.

«Raven?» Francesca said. «This is your call. Yours and Savannah's. If you believe Mikhail and Gregori should be called back to try to deal with this attempt to murder your children, then we'll summon them immediately.»

Raven and Savannah exchanged a long look. Silence settled into the cavern. The water in the huge pot continued to boil and the soothing scents of lavender and jasmine filled the air. Raven looked around at the women who waited, the women who had all come for one purpose-to save their children.